Influenza A virus (IAV) infection causes up to 1 billion infections and 300,000-500,000 deaths annually and the global outbreak of the swine H1N1 in 2009 has highlighted the limited anti-viral options available to cope with a pandemic influenza. Although vaccines are available against the seasonal IAV epidemics, these vaccines induce antibodies against the ever-evolving neuraminidase and hemagglutinin surface proteins of IAV and therefore require annual re-formulation and administration. Moreover these vaccines are generally not effective against pandemic outbreaks caused by newly emergent viruses. An alternative is to target the conserved internal regions of IAV. However, the recent pandemic outbreak of a swine H1N1 Influenza A virus has led the quest to discover broadly protective vaccines and anti-viral options against pandemic influenza.
The present invention is concerned with the development of a novel approach to the treatment influenza as well as other infectious diseases and cancers.